Sharp Corporation unveils 16 new G-Series AQUOS models featuring an elegant, slim, compact design that takes advantage of the industry’s thinnest profile of 8.1 cm and the light weight unique to LCD panels to be readily adaptable to a wide range of installation situations, in particular, for wall-mounting applications. Sharp equipped to all models use the Advanced Super View LCD Panel to reproduce smooth pictures even with fast-motion images, and strengthened picture quality, design, audio quality, and environmental performance.

LCD TVs are rapidly entering widespread use and replacement demand for flat-panel TVs, that is, replacing older living room models by purchasing new TVs with larger screens and higher resolution, is growing.

All models in this G Series feature a new compact design with a slimmer profile of 8.1 cm, the industry’s thinnest, and offer a “small footprint with a big screen” that pushes the meaning of space-saving to a new level. For example, a large 52-inch model*3 can be installed in the same width as our previous 43V-inch LCD TV*4 model, giving the user approximately 10 inches more in screen size.

Plus, all models use the Kameyama Double-Speed Advanced Super View LCD Panel to reproduce smooth pictures even with fast-motion images, and feature high definition, fast response times, and wide viewing angles. In addition, they deliver a living room contrast*5 of 900:1 (dark room contrast ratio of 2000:1) that reproduces crisp, clear, vivid pictures with pure, velvety blacks even in bright living room environments, enabling viewers to truly enjoy the full picture quality a video source has to offer, such as TV programs or movies and videos.

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Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced the 1,000 HD DVD Indies Project, designed to lower the barriers to entry for filmmakers to produce and distribute movies in the HD DVD format through the innovative manufacturing-on-demand technology of CustomFlix, a part of an Amazon group of companies. Jointly sponsored by Amazon and Microsoft, the project will provide free authoring and setup services for up to 1,000 selected indie titles.

“This collaboration with Microsoft is a great opportunity for independent filmmakers to reach Amazon customers with their films via the HD DVD format,” said Peter Faricy, vice president of music and movies at Amazon.com. “By working together with Microsoft and leveraging the proven CustomFlix DVD on Demand model, we can lower the barriers to entry for independent filmmakers and dramatically increase the selection we offer our customers.”

The project will be spearheaded by CustomFlix, which will bring as many as 1,000 feature-length independent films to Amazon customers using the CustomFlix DVD on Demand technology, which produces and ships DVDs only as they are ordered. This model greatly improves the cost structure for independent filmmakers by eliminating the need for costly inventory.

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Sony is calling on the television industry ”“ manufacturers and broadcasters ”“ to join its campaign to provide products and services for blind and partially sighted people.

“We are all used to seeing and using subtitles on TV, but what many people don’t know is that the technology exists to make a similarly useful service available for the 30 million* or so visually impaired people we have in Europe,” says Andreas Ditter, Vice President TV Operations Europe. “The entire Sony BRAVIA television range now provides access to Audio Description (AD) as standard which, in combination with a commitment to raise awareness of AD, aims to increase the number of programmes, broadcasters and television manufacturers that offer the service.”

Audio Description Built-In
While the majority of consumers have embraced and benefited from the increase in services, channels and programmes today’s digital broadcasters provide, many visually impaired people are unable to take advantage of these benefits ”“ and yet the technology exists for them to enjoy TV programming as much as those that can see.

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Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. (“Toshiba”) announced that HD DVD is bringing a whole new world of high definition entertainment to the hands of consumers. Delivering on the promise to provide advanced content and interactivity, new HD DVD titles with web-enabled network capabilities now allow consumers to easily access additional content and bonus features, as available, to enjoy their favorite HD DVD movies like never before. Current users of Toshiba HD DVD players can enjoy the web-enabled network capabilities by updating to the latest HD DVD player firmware, now available from Toshiba.

Since the launch of HD DVD, all of Toshiba’s players have offered advanced interactive functionality including picture-in- picture video and audio commentary, which have already been available on many HD DVD movies. Now Toshiba takes interactivity to the next level. The company’s latest firmware update supports improved network connectivity for downloading web-enabled network content and is another example of the company’s commitment toward achieving the ultimate home entertainment experience. No other high definition home entertainment format currently matches the features offered by Toshiba and the HD DVD format.

“Through web-enabled network connectivity, HD DVD is unlocking the door to an entirely new world of entertainment and once again achieving another milestone in next generation DVD,” said Jodi Sally, Vice President of Marketing, Toshiba’s Digital A/V Group. “With HD DVD, studios have the ability to develop new and unique content for movie fans, enabling consumers to have an entirely new way to access entertainment and customize their home movie experience that is currently not available with any other format.”

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Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. (“Toshiba”) announced the availability of its 46″, 47″ and 52″ REGZA LCD HDTVs as well as the upcoming availability of its largest ever LCD TV, a 57″ Cinema Series® model. The availability of these larger TVs comes at an outstanding time for the company, as according to The NPD Group’s retail tracking service TV data, which includes combos, Toshiba has nearly doubled its market share in the 32″ to 42″ LCD category in April and May 2007.

“The feedback on our new REGZA LCD line-up has been exceptional, and our market performance has been astounding,” said Scott Ramirez, Vice President of Marketing. “We listened to the voice of our customers, made quality products that are market right, and virtually doubled our 32″ to 42″ LCD market share. We now start shipping our larger 46″ to 57″ models, including our Cinema Series models with the advanced ClearFrame 120 Hz Anti-Blur System, and are confident that we will continue the same level of success. Consumers are responding to the quality and design of REGZA, but more importantly, they are proving that Toshiba is a market leader in flat panel TV.”

NPD’s data for April and May shows that Toshiba’s LCD market share in the key 32″ to 42″ screen size range has grown by 90 percent to 10.8 percent market share, making Toshiba #3 for 32″ to 42″ LCDs, including combos. In fact, Toshiba’s 40″ to 42″ LCD market share has grown to 12.7 percent, and the company’s 37″ LCD market share has grown to 13.2 percent.

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The new Hitachi product line is an important step forward in executing the company vision of providing all 1080, all flat panel, all large-screen (42″-60″) HDTVs with patented, innovative features and never-before-seen technology breakthroughs that deliver the most captivating, sharp and clear visual experience, no matter what viewers are watching.

The following 10 new HDTVs bring Hitachi’s overall product offering to a total of 14 feature-rich flat panel displays:

• A jaw-dropping 60-inch plasma display from Hitachi’s legendary Director’s Series, for consumers with the sharpest eye, a cultivated design aesthetic and highly discriminating tastes

• Two new 55-inch plasma displays, one H-Series and one T-Series, offering 1.3 million pixels and best-in-class resolution (1280 x 1080) that renders sharper detail than conventional plasma displays

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SiBEAM, Inc., a developer of high-speed wireless communications platforms, today announced they are the first to break the barriers of 60 GHz technology with the development of working 60 GHz chipsets for non-line-of-sight applications, built using standard CMOS manufacturing techniques.

“We’ve conquered some of the industry’s most challenging obstacles surrounding 60 GHz. Our aim with this technology is to exploit the 7 GHz of unlicensed spectrum around 60 GHz to provide very high data rates to multiple users within an indoor wireless environment using conventional silicon,” said John LeMoncheck, SiBEAM CEO.

“We are delighted to reveal the results of SiBEAM’s dedication to superior technology solutions and vast expertise in developing high speed wireless applications using very high frequencies in CMOS. This revolutionary solution will provide our customers with the ability to develop low cost, low-power, mobile mmWave communications products.”

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HP today announced that Warner Bros. Entertainment has deployed the company’s media storage technology to help transform the complex post-production of new films, as well as the restoration of older titles, from the traditional process using celluloid to one that is entirely digital.

HP Media Storage is helping Warner Bros. move to an environment that uses 4K Digital, the industry’s highest resolution format for digital video, which now provides four times the resolution quality of HDTV.

By doing so, Warner Bros. can streamline its post-production processes, while maintaining the high resolution quality that the studio considers essential for the creative community making new films and the audiences that enjoy them. Warner Bros. relied on HP Media Storage to produce its recent hit “Oceans 13.”

Using HP Media Storage, creative teams can store and retrieve the massive 4K files in real time while working on the task of transforming a director’s raw footage into a finished movie that will be ready for distribution into many different formats, such as 35 mm and digital cinema screens, high-definition discs, Internet TV and mobile devices. A 4K digital master also preserves enough information to guarantee the value of the film for future generations and presentation technologies.

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